 Rodney Parade West Stand | |
  Rodney Parade Location within Newport | |
| Location | Rodney Road Newport NP19 0UU |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°35′18″N2°59′16″W / 51.58833°N 2.98778°W /51.58833; -2.98778 |
| Public transit |  Newport railway station Newport bus station |
| Owner | Dragons Stadium |
| Operator | Dragons RFC |
| Capacity | 8,700 (7,850 for football)[1][2] |
| Record attendance | 31,000 (Newport RFC vsSouth Africa, January 10 1952)Limited[3] |
| Surface | PlayMaster (Hybrid grass) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1877 |
| Architect | Thomas Douglas-Jones |
| Tenants | |
| Dragons RFC (2003-present) Newport County A.F.C. (2012-present) | |
Rodney Parade is astadium in the city ofNewport,South Wales. It is located on the east bank of theRiver Usk inNewport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's centralbus andrailway stations viaNewport Bridge orNewport City footbridge. There is no spectator car park at the ground but a number ofmulti-storey car parks are nearby.
Rodney Parade is the home ground ofDragons RFC, one of the fourWelsh regional rugby union teams.[4] It is also the home ground ofNewport Countyfootball club. It is the third-oldest sports venue in theFootball League, after theRacecourse Ground andDeepdale. Stadium capacity is reduced from rugby levels for football matches.
In 2017 the rugby union clubNewport RFC sold Rodney Parade to theWelsh Rugby Union and subsequently in 2021 Newport RFC relocated toNewport Stadium. In 2023 a privateconsortium purchased Rodney Parade and the Dragons regional rugby union team from the WRU.
Newport Squash Rackets Club[5] has foursquash courts at Rodney Parade.
Rodney Parade has two covered stands: the two-tier Candleston Stand (west) and the Bisley Stand (east) which are along the touchlines of the pitch. The upper tier of the west stand is seated with 1,996 seats, including 40 Press seats and the lower tier is a standingterrace. The east stand is all-seated with a 2,526 capacity including 144 seats in 13 hospitality boxes,[6] food/drink outlets and a gantry for television cameras. The TV cameras are therefore pointing westward and often show the sun setting over Newport city centre.
The North Terrace is uncovered standing and adjoins a small uncovered standing terrace on the west touchline alongside the west stand. The South End of the stadium houses players' changing rooms, a media centre, large video screen and the small uncovered stand with 222 seats for away football fans. Away football fans are also sited in block F of the east stand giving a total capacity of 1,300 for away football fans. Capacity has occasionally been increased for majorFA Cup matches with the addition of temporary stands at the north and south ends.
The hospitality suite is located in the North End of the East Stand on the upper level.
The rugby ticket office and club shop is located at the north end of the East Stand accessed via the main gate to the ground (Gate 4) off Grafton Road. The Newport County ticket office is a separate building just inside Gate 4.
To the north of the North Terrace is a tented fanzone for pre and post match entertainment and a floodlit grass training area. Further north, parallel to Grafton Road, is the rugby clubhouse/office facilities including Rodney Hall.
In 1875, the Newport Athletic Club was created, and two years later they secured the use of land at Rodney Parade fromGodfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, for theircricket,tennis,rugby union andathletics teams. In October 1879,Newport RFC playedCardiff RFC in a floodlit game at Rodney Parade. It was the first ground in Wales to have floodlights installed.
Newport RFC enjoyed six highly successful seasons, being unbeaten during that time. The team sustained their first defeat in the 1870s, but were again unbeaten in seasons 1891-2 and 1922-3.
Monmouthshire County Cricket Club played at Rodney Parade from 1901 to 1934.
Rodney Parade hosted Wales international matches against England, France and Scotland. Touring international teams the 1924New Zealand All Blacks and the 1960South Africa Springboks both narrowly defeated Newport RFC at Rodney Parade.
The cricket ground, which was on the south side of the stadium, was demolished and the newMaindee primary school was built on the site in 1993. Newport Cricket Club relocated to theNewport International Sports Village.
Following theintroduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales, theNewport Gwent Dragons regional team was formed on 1 April 2003 and shared Rodney Parade with Newport RFC.
On 4 September 2007, it was announced that the Rodney Parade site was due to be redeveloped into a 15,000-capacity stadium by the beginning of the 2010–11 rugby union season. The redevelopment was backed byNewport City Council,Newport Unlimited, Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons. The application received planning consent on 11 March 2009. The plan included construction of covered stands at the north and south ends and the provision of cover on the stretch of the west touchline terrace. In August 2010, it was announced that the target finish date for the first phase had been put back to the beginning of the 2011–12 rugby union season with the full redevelopment planned to take several years.[7] The new east stand was opened in October 2011, and named the Bisley Stand for sponsorship purposes.
In May 2012, it was agreed thatNewport County football club would move fromNewport Stadium and play its home fixtures at Rodney Parade as part of an initial three-year deal, meaning that the stadium would host association football matches on a regular basis for the first time. In February 2013, Newport County agreed a further 10-year lease to play at Rodney Parade.[8]
In April 2013, Newport AthleticBowls Club relocated from Rodney Parade toCaerleon.[9]
In the summers of 2013 and 2014, new drainage and irrigation systems were installed under the grass playing surface.[10] Despite that, serious drainage problems occurred at the end of 2016. Newport County's matches againstBarnet on 3 September andMorecambe on 10 December were abandoned at half-time because the pitch was waterlogged and theEnglish Football League stepped in to help identify the problem.[11]
In March 2017, the sale of the ground to theWelsh Rugby Union was agreed following a vote ofNewport RFC shareholders.[12] The takeover was completed on 27 June 2017 and work started to install ahybrid grass pitch for the 2017–18 rugby and football season.[13]
In 2018 the record attendance for a Newport County match at Rodney Parade was set at 9,836 against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA cup fourth round.[14]
In August 2020 the memorial gates, on the corner of Rodney and Grafton Roads, were givenGrade II listed building status. They were erected in 1923–24 to commemorate members of Newport Athletic Club who were killed in theFirst World War. The gates are made of steel and the gate piers ofPortland stone. Each pier is faced with a bronze panel inscribed with the names of the dead.[15]
In March 2021 Newport County were permitted by the EFL to move two home matches toCardiff City Stadium due to the poor condition of the Rodney Parade pitch. TheDragons also switched three home matches to theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff. Scheduled pitch maintenance had been cancelled in Summer 2020 by the ground ownersWRU due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[16] The pitch and drainage redevelopment including ahybrid grass surface was completed in August 2021.[17]
In October 2021Newport RFC relocated their home matches from Rodney Parade toNewport Stadium whilst agreeing with theWRU to play two matches per season at Rodney Parade.[18] In May 2022 Rodney Parade ground staff were presented with the Best Pitch inEFL League Two award for the 2021–22 football season[19] and the 2022–23 football season.
In June 2023 aconsortium headed by formerJust EatCEO and currentDragons chairman David Buttress bought the Rodney Parade site and the Dragons rugby union team from the Welsh Rugby Union.[20]
In July 2023 Newport County football club agreed a new short term lease to continue to play their matches at the ground.[21] In July 2024 Newport County football club agreed a new 10 year lease to play their home matches at Rodney Parade[22]
Rodney Parade has hosted six full-cap rugby union international matches for theWales national rugby union team:
| Date | Part of | Opponent | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 January 1884 | 1884 Home Nations Championship |  Scotland | 0G, 0T – 1G, 1T |
| 4 February 1888 | 1888 Home Nations Championship | 0G, 1T – 0G, 0T | |
| 3 January 1891 | 1891 Home Nations Championship |  England | 3–7 |
| 3 February 1894 | 1894 Home Nations Championship | Scotland | 7–0 |
| 9 January 1897 | 1897 Home Nations Championship | England | 11–0 |
| 25 March 1912 | Friendly |  France | 14–8 |
It has hosted one match for theWales women's national football team:
| Date | Part of | Opponent | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2018 | Women's World Cup Qualifier | England | 0–3 |
| History | |
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| Home stadium |
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| Rivalries | |
| Related articles | |
